October 12, 2001 Tsunami: Queen Charlotte Islands, Canada
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 6.1 earthquake began at Queen Charlotte Islands, Canada on October 12, 2001 at 05:02:34 UTC. The water rose as high as 0.11 meters. Its effects were recorded at 4 places.
Where the waves reached
The source (white) and every runup with a place, colored by the water height recorded there. A ring is a runup NCEI marks doubtful.
- Under 1 m
- 1 to 3 m
- 3 to 10 m
- 10 to 30 m
- 30 m and more
- Height not recorded
The tsunami
- Date
- October 12, 2001, 05:02:34 UTC
- Source
- Queen Charlotte Islands, Canada
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 6.1, 20 km deep
- Maximum water height
- 0.11 m (0.4 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 4
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 52.630° N, 132.200° W
The toll
The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this tsunami.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Rabinovich and Stephenson [2004] describe the tsunami waves which were recorded at Canadian tide stations: surprisingly, this moderate underwater earthquake generated a tsunami, which was recorded by four tide gauges on the coast of Vancouver Island. Maximum tsunami wave heights at these stations were: 14.5 cm (Port Hardy), 22.7 cm (Winter Harbour), 18.2 cm (Tofino), and 11.3 cm (Bamfiefd).These heights exceed those for the June 23, 2001 Peru tsunami. Unfortunately, the Langara tsunami station was not in operation during this event, and at the other stations, including nearby stations Queen Charlotte, Bella Bella, and Prince Rupert, this tsunami was not recorded, probably because of coastal sheltering and spatial decay. (reference #4153)
Every runup
Nearest the source first. Heights are above sea level at the time; a tide gauge reads half the wave’s full height.
| Where | Country | Km from source | Water height, m | Inland, m | Measured by | First wave, UTC | Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Harbor, British Columbia, BC | Canada | 373 | 0.11 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 12, 05:47 | ||
| Port Hardy, British Columbia, BC | Canada | 389 | 0.07 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 12, 05:53 | ||
| Tofino (Clayoquot),british Columbia, BC | Canada | 587 | 0.09 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 12, 07:01 | ||
| Bamfield, British Columbia, BC | Canada | 653 | 0.05 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 12, 07:20 |
More
Every tsunami in 2001The 2000sTsunamis of CanadaThe earthquakeThis day in weather historyAlerts in force
Sources
Tsunami events and runups from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI tsunami event 5609.